


you don't have to say you're mine

by Sonni89



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, First Dates, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:09:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21828742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sonni89/pseuds/Sonni89
Summary: For their first date, June and Pez attend Zahra and Shaan's wedding in DC, and they don't want the press to get wind of it. Fortunately, Alex, Henry, Nora, and Bea are there to help them come up with a diversion so they don't get caught.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, June Claremont-Diaz/Percy "Pez" Okonjo
Comments: 8
Kudos: 88
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	you don't have to say you're mine

**Author's Note:**

  * For [florahart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/florahart/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide, florahart! I love this canon and I loved your prompts, I hope this is what you had in mind. 
> 
> Thank you to htbthomas for the beta, to imperfectcircle for looking over the British dialogue, and to insunshine for the handholding!

“So, Pez is going to ask June to go to the wedding with him,” Henry says after Alex answers the video call. It’s their fourth of the day. 

It's late afternoon in Brooklyn; Henry has been in Europe for the past ten days, opening two more of his foundation’s LGBTQ+ youth shelters in Prague and Madrid, and making sure his own country doesn’t feel neglected now that he’s living overseas most of the time. He’s therefore also spending a few days visiting children’s hospitals and schools in South London on his grand European tour. 

“Zahra and Shaan’s? He does know June is already invited to that and that the wedding is four weeks from today, doesn’t he?” Alex asks. 

“Oh, he knows,” Henry replies, and laughs. 

Alex misses that sound, and seeing how Henry's eyes crinkle when he's amused. It's been harder this time around, having Henry gone. Alex has only recently submitted his law school applications to NYU and Columbia and moved in with Henry a couple of months ago. This is the first time they’ve been apart for longer than three days at a time, and Alex is feeling the absence. Nora would say he’s pining. Four days to go. 

“Apparently weddings are the perfect occasion to prove you're serious about a courtship,” Henry says, clearly quoting verbatim. “Have they even seen each other since…?”

“Since that time at the second inaugural ball? Not as far as I know,” Alex says, smirking at the empty living room. June and Pez had been dancing around each other for months -- something happening between them had been more or less an inevitability -- and after performing a few distractions for the journalists in attendance (a tumbled-over flower pot and a well-acted _oh no, I’m so clumsy_ from Henry did the trick), June took Pez up to her room and Alex very much did not need to know anything beyond that. 

“June just texted me, actually. Mind if I add her to this FaceTime?” Alex asks. 

“Not at all,” Henry says, and June’s face appears on split screen. 

June opens the conversation with, “Okay, which of you did this?” 

“Hello to you too, Bug,” Alex says, fondly rolling his eyes at her. 

“I didn’t do a thing,” Henry says. “Alex?”

“Nope, I think that’s Pez all on his own. C’mon, Junebug, this can’t be a surprise to you.” Alex laughs. 

“You really didn’t put him up to this?” she asks. 

“No,” Alex and Henry say in unison. It's a tiny thing, but it makes Alex smile that they're in sync even across an ocean. 

June tries and fails to suppress a grin. _Interesting._ It had been absolutely impossible to get anything out of her about Pez up until now. Alex was afraid she had regrets and it would irrevocably wreck their friend group, something he had whined to Henry about at length. Henry mostly just approximated a _there, there_ to comfort him, and then took his face in his hands to kiss him instead, and while that only partly alleviated his worries, Alex has no reason whatsoever to complain. They did have one real conversation about it, during which Henry reminded him that June and Pez were both adults and could probably handle it, and if not, they were family or basically family, and they'd all figure it out together if they really needed to. 

Alex hears some jostling at the front door. “Hang on a second,” he says to Henry and June. 

“Cash?” he calls out. Cash and Shaan live in the apartments downstairs, the brownstone is decked out with cameras, and they have a rotating cast of Secret Service security guards in the lobby, so it isn’t disconcerting when there's no immediate response. There are only a few people who can come and go as they please. 

It isn’t Cash that appears in his living room, though. Nora stands in the doorway, smiling at him. “Hey. I was in the neighborhood,” she says, and not very carefully sets down her brown leather purse behind the couch, then goes over to give Alex a quick hug. 

“I should never have given the Secret Service blanket permission for you to go in and out whenever you want. What if I’d been naked?” 

“Nothing I haven’t seen before,” Nora quips. Alex rolls his eyes at her. 

“What are you doing in Brooklyn?” he asks instead. 

“Oh, you know, wanted to see the cherry blossoms and all,” she says. “Also, there’s a really cool coding workshop downtown that I wanted to sit in on.”

There’s a sound of someone performatively clearing their throat from the phone Alex is still holding in his hand.

“I’m on with Henry and June,” Alex says. Nora wordlessly reaches for the phone and takes it out of his hand. 

“Hi, you two,” she says while she plops down on Alex and Henry’s extremely comfortable grey sectional. “June, did Pez ask you to the wedding yet?”

“How on earth do you already know about this?” Alex asks, sitting down right next to Nora so he can get back in the frame, but mostly to get his eyes back on Henry. Based on Nora’s gentle shove, he wasn’t as successful at hiding his reaction to seeing Henry on the screen as he’d hoped. Alex wonders if he's always going to be overwhelmed by his boyfriend. He hopes so. 

“I second that question,” June says.

“I talked to Bea this morning.”

“How did _Bea_ already know? I didn’t know until about 15 minutes ago,” Henry protests. 

“Maybe Pez needed a new best friend to confide in, now that you’ve abandoned him for a better country,” Nora says, chuckling. 

“Ha ha, very funny.” Henry rolls his eyes at her and flips her off, which is so surprising it makes Alex giggle and Nora gasp in mock-affront. 

Bea and Pez had bonded in Henry’s absence. While Pez is constantly jet-setting around the world, he always makes sure to check in on Bea when he’s in London. At first, Bea would text Alex to complain about her overbearing brother and his scheming, but in the end, Bea seemed to have come to really appreciate hanging out with Pez on a regular basis. Alex knew Henry was glad about it, too. 

“Anyway…” June says in an attempt to get the conversation back on track. “I do want to go with him…”

Alex and Nora interrupt her in unison to “ooo” at her; Henry just rolls his eyes. 

“Thank you,” June says in his direction. “Children, the both of them. As I was saying, I do want to go with him, but the press would have a field day if I debuted a new relationship at my mom’s Chief of Staff’s wedding, and I really don’t want to do that to Zahra or Shaan. Or myself, frankly. It’d be easier if Pez could get himself here before the wedding and we could go on a few public dates so the press would get over it, but you know how busy he is with his foundation, and he’ll be in Laos and Cambodia until then.” 

“Right. So you’re serious about wanting to go with him?” Alex asks gently and seriously. He's not surprised she does, but he's surprised by the admission. 

“I really am.” June's eyes light up, and Alex knows they'll all do whatever it takes to make this work out for her. 

“We’ll make it happen,” Nora says immediately, faster than anyone else can reply. Alex can practically see the wheels turning in her head. She’s probably created seven exit strategies and five contingency plans already, but she doesn't seem to be in a sharing mood just yet. 

“It’s a wedding, I’m sure there’ll be another flowerpot or two that Henry can knock over. Really cement his status as the clumsiest royal,” Alex says mischievously and cracks up as he says it. 

“Just for that, you’re not getting a souvenir,” Henry says. 

Alex laughs, and really, really misses Henry. 

“We all know that’s a damn lie,” June says, laughing at them both. Everyone else joins in. 

\---

The next morning, Alex wakes up to the smell of… coffee? What in the world? Henry’s gone for another three days, Nora left late last night, and Cash is not in the business of providing him with caffeinated beverages. He climbs out of bed and pads down the stairs into the open kitchen, where Henry is sitting at the counter. 

Alex gives an undignified yelp, then practically leaps into Henry’s arms the rest of the way, pulling him down into a searing kiss. He can’t stop smiling into it. 

“I missed you too,” Henry says when they untangle themselves from each other enough for him to get a word in. 

“What… are… you… doing… here?” Alex asks him in between quick kisses, then pulls Henry in towards himself and hugs him as tightly as he can. “I thought you weren’t back until Friday,” he says, and clings to Henry some more. Fortunately Henry seems to find him charming. 

“I finished everything I had to do and left early. I found myself really missing New York pizza all of a sudden.”

“Pizza, huh?” Alex asks, not needing a response, and kisses Henry’s neck. “I missed you so much,” he says. “Let’s not spend eleven days apart again anytime soon. I hated it. I had to watch so much TV and eat so much takeout in your absence.”

“I’m sure that was a true hardship for you,” Henry says sarcastically. 

Alex nods forlornly. “It really was. I talked to my burrito for lack of human connection. It was pretty grim.” He doesn't mention that they talked for hours each day anyway. 

“Any chance I can convince you to spend the rest of the day in bed with me? I'm knackered from the flight,” Henry says and gives a performative yawn. 

If Alex has his way, they won't be napping for a good long while. 

“What kind of question is that? Obviously,” Alex says and takes Henry’s hand, pulling him off the barstool. Henry nearly trips from following Alex towards the stairs too quickly, so Alex is confident they're on the same page. 

\---

The month until Zahra and Shaan's wedding flies by. Alex and Henry are away for a lot of that time -- Alex heads to DC for a couple of days every week, and Henry joins him when he can. His mother and Leo adore Henry to a point where he's half convinced Henry is the reason they want him to come back to DC so much.

They also spend a lot of time in their group chat with Nora, June, Bea, and Pez, trying to work out how to keep June and Pez’s budding romance out of the tabloids and off the internet. While the President will not be in attendance at the wedding -- she sent a very thoughtful card and a large check -- a prince, a princess, and the First Son and Daughter at the wedding of the President's Chief of Staff is still one of DC’s most important social events of the year, and the press has been granted access to the ceremony and the cocktail part of the reception.

Finally, on Wednesday afternoon, three days before the wedding, Nora calls. 

“Hey, I have an idea, but I wanted to run it by you first,” she says. “Really, it was the first idea I had, but was hoping we could avoid this particular one.”

 _Oh fuck,_ Alex thinks. “I’m all ears,” is what he says. 

“I wish we could just send in some bodyguards and tell people not to take pictures, but that’s impossible at a wedding, unfortunately. Anyway, you won’t like the plan,” Nora says, sounding apologetic. 

Alex had figured as much. 

“I was afraid of that. Tell me,” Alex says. Unfortunately, he thinks he knows where this is going. 

“We could use the public’s ongoing obsession with your relationship to our advantage,” Nora says quickly. 

“You’re right, I don’t like it.” Alex was afraid of something like that. However, he knows all too well how hard it is to have your relationship dissected by the press and subsequently the public, so he can only imagine it's worse for his sister, who isn’t even in a relationship (yet?) at all, and is instead still trying to figure out what she and Pez are to each other. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to ask you to give the press a show. That’s not fair to you and it’s not fair to Zahra and Shaan either,” Nora says. “We could use you as a shield of sorts. Just lean into being your lovey-dovey selves, and while June and Pez will hopefully be in stealth mode while the press is there, the press should be distracted enough speculating about when you and Henry are going to get engaged, and who’s going to pop the question to notice June and Pez at all.”

“Ugh.” Alex shudders at the idea of he and Henry’s relationship being used in that way. The thought of marrying Henry, though? It makes him feel unexpectedly giddy inside and he’s suddenly glad he’s alone, so no one can see his ridiculous smile. 

Nora fortunately hasn’t developed the ability to read minds yet, so she goes on. “And we all know the public has a vested interest in you, so they will hopefully also ignore Pez and June, which means no incriminating pictures of them will end up on Twitter,” she says. 

Alex really very much would like his sister to avoid that particular fate, but that doesn't mean he wants to be in the press any more than he already has been. He just sighs into the phone. 

“My thoughts exactly, but I bet it works. If I ran some tests, I’m sure they’d say the same thing,” Nora says, and Alex knows that she’s definitely right once statistics come into play. 

“You’re right. Fine, I’ll ask Henry,” Alex says. 

\---

Henry doesn’t like the plan any more than Alex does. As it turns out, Alex can be very convincing, though, when he needs to be, and he is glad that Henry seems to be as overwhelmed by Alex as Alex is by Henry, still, even after all this time, and not just because it worked to his advantage this time. 

“Good luck telling June that you’re sacrificing yourself for her,” Henry says later that night as they’re lying in bed. “Actually, can you FaceTime her now? I want to be there to see that.” He laughs and kisses Alex’s cheek.

“You WHAT,” June near-yells when Alex told her of the plan. “No. Absolutely not.” She pointedly shakes her head once, as if that makes it final. 

“Yes, Bug. We’ll provide the distraction, you get to go on your date at this wedding and won’t end up in the tabloids, or worse, on Twitter. No big deal, problem solved,” he says and looks over at Henry, who mouths _I told you so_ at him. He loves this man so much. 

“Problem not solved, and it is a big deal. I’m your big sister, I’m supposed to be protecting you, not the other way around,” June says, and Alex is so fond of her. His phone slips a little as he smiles, and Henry shows up in the frame.

“And you’re okay with this?” June asks. She looks rightfully skeptical.

“I really am,” Henry says, and after their earlier conversation and ensuing orgasms, Alex doesn’t even think he’s lying. He appreciates Henry for helping him present a united front here. 

“C’mon, Junebug, it’ll be fine,” Alex says. “Let us do this for you.”

“We want to do this for you and Pez,” Henry corrects, and smiles at June reassuringly through the screen. Alex continues to be in awe at how good Henry is at putting people at ease. 

“Okay,” June says quietly. “Thank you.” She smiles at them and Alex hates how guilty she still looks. It'll probably take time, or the actual date, for her to be okay with this. 

“It’s our pleasure,” he says and Henry nods. “We’ll make this work for you,” Alex promises. He absolutely can’t let his sister down; she deserves the world and he’ll do his part in giving it to her, and that’s that. 

\---

The Trio, Henry, Bea, and Pez are all staying in various rooms at the White House the night before the wedding. They all arrived in DC at different times and with different security teams, so meeting at the White House made coordinating much easier. Also, now that Alex doesn’t live there anymore, he does appreciate getting to spend some time with his mom and Leo.

The hair and makeup people have just left and they all split up to get dressed in their respective rooms. Alex and Henry are sharing Alex’s old bedroom, and Alex has spent the past few minutes ogling Henry instead of getting dressed himself. 

“You know we have to leave in less than 20 minutes,” Henry warns, but he looks charmed. 

“I can put on five suits in that time. I’m really enjoying the show here,” Alex says and visibly checks Henry out while he shucks the sweater and polo shirt he’s been wearing to put on a blue button-down and his suit jacket. It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before, but he appreciates it every time. 

“You can enjoy the show when the wedding is over, now, get dressed,” Henry says, and claps twice for effect. 

“Yes, sir,” Alex says and sticks out his tongue at Henry. 

Henry walks over to him immediately. “Classy,” he says, but he wraps Alex up in his arms and kisses him deeply.

Bea knocks on their door with a five-minute warning and has the foresight to not come in. They are still five minutes late getting downstairs anyway. 

\---

Alex and Henry thought they’d be the last one to get downstairs, but to his surprise, Pez and June are right behind them. When he turns around and spots them, Alex sees June and Pez holding hands. Pez has the happiest, fondest smile on his face. Alex makes eye contact with June and winks at her. She blushes a little and looks so very happy. This was a great idea. 

“You’re all late,” Bea says, but she doesn’t sound mad. She makes a face at Henry, who makes a face back. “Come on, let’s go,” she says, and everyone starts heading towards the cars. 

They get in two of the three black cars waiting, Nora, Bea, and Pez take the first, and Alex, Henry and June the second. Splitting June and Pez up was part of the plan, but June looks a little forlorn when Pez gets in the other car. 

Alex gets a text from Nora that just says, **it’s been five minutes and June’s boy already misses her. can’t tell if cute or gross.**

Alex laughs and sends back, **Both? June’s not faring much better.**

**ah, young love** , Nora sends back. Alex supposes she’s right. In the month since they started talking about this wedding date, June and Pez have grown closer, and something changed even since they all arrived at the White House yesterday afternoon. June looked radiant back there at the White House in a way Alex hasn’t really seen before. He makes a note to ask her about it when this whole thing is over. 

When they pull up to the venue, the other three are already waiting by the entrance, their security detail right beside them. 

“Ready?” Alex asks June, and gently nudges her, smiling. 

June nods. “Ready,” she says, and smiles back at Alex right before their driver opens the car door for her. 

\---

June can’t help but give Pez a careful once-over when she spots him outside the Capitol View, waiting for her to step out of the car, even though it’s only been a few minutes since she last saw him. He’s even wearing an inconspicuous grey suit for the occasion. It’s the most unnerving thing about today, maybe, but when he was looped into the date plans, he immediately said he’d wear something that wouldn’t make him stand out any more than he does by virtue of being a billionaire philanthropist. His bowtie is still a blast of every color, though, and it makes June smile. 

They had a long conversation last night (bookended by a lot of kissing and featuring some truly spectacular sex) in which they decided they wanted to give this a try for real. The wedding is still their first date, but now they’ll go on their first date as an official couple. It makes it easier for June to know that no matter what happens today, they’re on the same page. 

Alex and Henry are walking ahead, Bea and Nora are right behind them, arm in arm and giggling about something, and their security guards flank their sides. Alex pulls Henry closer to his side and wraps an arm around his waist, in a move that seems absolutely authentic, but June knows is clearly designed for the photographer she has just spotted right by the entrance that Alex must have seen earlier than she had. 

“You’ve got this. We’ve got this,” Pez whispers to her. Hidden from view, Pez gives June’s hand a squeeze and turns his head to smile at her, and June doesn’t know how she doesn’t just pass out right there. 

They find their seats once they get inside, Pez on June’s left side and Alex on her right, and the ceremony starts almost as soon as they sit down. 

It’s immediately apparent when Zahra appears in Shaan’s view because his face changes right away. He looks at her like she hung the moon. June turns her head, and when she sees Zahra, she can’t help but shed a tear at how Zahra is actually genuinely smiling. She also looks stunning in her ivory lace wedding dress. She looks over at Alex and sees him putting his hand on Henry’s thigh on his other side, holding on tight. She wishes she could lean into Pez or hold his hand, but this is too public of a spot for her to do so, and there are photographers all over. 

Shaan’s vows are lovely, and Zahra’s are perfect. They’re a lot more emotional than June would have expected or given her credit for, and suddenly Zahra and Shaan are pronounced married, they’re kissing, and the ceremony part is over. So far, so good. That’s the first wedding down -- they’ll have a second, traditional Indian wedding in England three months from now, primarily for Shaan’s extended family, who couldn’t all make the trek overseas.

They make their way to the reception. At the reception, the plan is for the six of them to stick together for the first part so as to be less conspicuous. They stand in a circle off closer to the side and are handed a choice of champagne or sparkling cider in flutes by the passing waiters. 

“That was so lovely,” Bea says. “They love each other so much.” She dabs at her eyes with a handkerchief. 

“I didn’t think I’d be this affected,” Henry says. “But their vows… wow.” 

“Better take notes, Alex,” Nora says. Henry blushes, as does Alex, but once they look at each other and see they’ve both gone red, they smile at each other and kiss, right then and there. 

June isn’t jealous per se because she knows what they’ve been through to make it here, but she wishes she, too, could kiss her new boyfriend in public. She smiles at Pez a little sadly, and he gives her a look as if to say, _I know, I get it_.

“To Shaan and Zahra,” Henry says, raising his glass. “May they live happily ever after.”

“To Shaan and Zahra,” the rest of them echo, and take a sip of their drinks.

“Are you okay?” Nora asks June. June really needs to hide her facial expressions better if she doesn’t want everyone at the reception knowing her every thought and feeling. 

“I’m fine,” June says out loud, then adds in a whisper, “I just wish I could have some alone time with Pez. Having your first date with 400 other people isn’t really my idea of romantic.”

“I got you,” Nora says.

“What does that mean?” June asks. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Nora says, and that’s not an answer, but somehow, June is comforted by it. She trusts Nora to know what she’s doing; she always does. 

Once they’ve finished their drinks, Nora pulls Bea by the sleeve and pulls her away. Bea looks like she has no idea what’s happening, but Nora looks determined. 

Pez, June, Alex and Henry stay where they are and chat about everything and nothing, from a cute dog they saw on their way over here to Henry’s recent work opening new shelters. Nora and Bea return just before dinner is served, but remain tight-lipped on their whereabouts for the past near-hour. 

They get through dinner, where June has a long and fascinating conversation about the state of journalism in the UK with Shaan’s cousin Priya, who works in editorial at the Guardian, while Nora quizzes her wife Kate about the statistical science program at UCL, where she’s a graduate tutor. 

There are what feels like endless speeches, though they are very sweet. Zahra’s sister Amber gives a truly moving toast that has their whole table in tears, and even Zahra looks ready to shed a tear or two, and is throwing her sister a _stop that now_ kind of look. June is so happy for her. 

And then it’s time to dance. They’d decided as a group that June and Pez could dance together, but no kissing, not for the first three songs, and not for long enough to stop having plausible deniability. It was better than nothing, June guessed, but it’s obviously not her preferred way of doing things. 

Really, her preferred way of doing things didn’t include her brother, his boyfriend, and her two best friends planning every minute of her first date with her new boyfriend, but nothing about the past five years has been her preferred way of doing things, so why would this be?

June watches Alex and Henry as she walks up to the dancefloor with Pez. The two of them are dancing very close together and it’s not clear if they’re acting as a distraction or just being themselves. Either way, they’ve definitely drawn some attention from the wedding guests. How many weddings end up having the first son and the Prince of England in attendance, after all? 

The fourth song, fortunately, is a good one. At Last by Etta James starts playing, and Pez holds out his hand to June. She smiles at Pez. This really is a perfect song for them to dance to, now that they’ve finally made it here. 

“I’m so happy to be here with you,” Pez whispers in her ear. “Even though I’d obviously prefer to whisk you off somewhere much more private,” he adds. 

“You and me both. I can’t believe our first date is with 400 other people and my brother,” she says, echoing what she said to Nora earlier. 

“I can have a private jet here in 30 minutes,” Pez says. “We could be in Paris by morning.”

“Maybe not quite in line with the whole secret date thing.”

“Submarine?” he asks instead. He’s probably serious. 

“No,” she says firmly, but she can’t help but laugh. Pez looks wildly pleased by that, and she’s pleased to have made him laugh, and then they’re just in a feedback loop of happily grinning at each other on the dancefloor. 

Pez pulls her closer and they finish the dance in a tight hug, just toeing the line of plausible deniability. Alex and Henry finish their dance early, and Alex _curtsies_. Henry swats him a little bit, June thinks she hears a faint ‘aww’ somewhere, but she chooses to focus her attention back on Pez, her _boyfriend_ who is here in the flesh and dancing with her to a perfect song. 

When they finish the dance, Pez kisses her hand -- also not outside the realm of what he would usually do -- but out of the corner of her eye, she still sees Henry stopping a waiter and feeding Alex the hors-d’oeuvre he just picked up. 

Pez leads June back to the side of the room where Bea is intently listening to Nora, who, it seems, is doing her best to explain the cultural importance of the Aaron Rodgers State Farm commercials to Bea. 

\---

So far, no breaking news alerts have popped up on June’s phone, so she thinks they’ve been good on that front. The real problem was that the whole thing didn’t very much feel like a date to her; a date is usually much less of a group activity, and involves much less of her brother watching her every move and making out with his boyfriend every time she so much as looked at Pez. Come to think of it, she doesn’t really know how much of that was a distraction and how much it was just Alex and Henry being utterly themselves. 

They head to their cars and this time, June rides with Bea and Nora. June expects to settle in for a longer ride and lets Bea and Nora’s chatter wash over her, but is surprised when the car stops two minutes later, outside the Hyatt Regency hotel. 

“We got us all rooms here tonight,” Nora says. “Unofficial afterparty.”

In the lobby, Bea over-exaggerates handing Pez his room key and says, “You’re on your own tonight. Henry and Alex, here you go,” and hands them a key as well. Henry yawns, and June is pretty sure it was fake. 

“See you later,” Alex yells back at him. 

“We’re taking June,” Bea announces. 

“Hey, wait a second…” June says. She loves Nora and Bea, they’re two of her best friends in the world, but she was hoping to spend tonight with someone else. 

“Trust us,” Nora interjects, and shushes her. Pez doesn’t protest at all, which is a little strange. 

They go up to the top floor of the hotel, where they have three suites. Nora and Bea usher June inside one of them. 

“We only came up with the last part of this plan at the wedding and didn’t have time to loop you in. You can obviously still say no,” Nora starts. 

“What plan?” June asks. She’s not sure whether to be ecstatic or worried. 

“We didn’t think you and Pez had very much privacy at the White House last night, between all the family time, catching up, and being in the White House in the first place,” Nora says. “And the wedding obviously wasn’t very date-like, either. So we decided to get a bunch of hotel rooms here. We’re more or less just here as a decoy, so if someone saw us, they’ll think the six of us are having a party. We’re known for that after all,” she adds. 

“But of course you’ll go stay in a room with Pez, if that’s what you want. We just didn’t want to presume outright,” Bea says. “We told him earlier to stay put and that we’d let him know about the plan for the rest of the night soon.”

“If you don’t want to go over there and we’re being presumptuous, we’ll really have an afterparty here with everyone, order a pizza, and play some games. We have two doubles in here, we can easily share, and then head back to the White House tomorrow morning,” Nora says. 

“Y’all are so great. This is so great, thank you,” June says. “I would love to go spend time with Pez, though I will absolutely call in a rain check on that pizza and games party,” she says. She never wants her friends to think she’s ditching them for a boy, but considering they orchestrated this whole thing, they don’t seem to be too worried about it. 

“Go! Have fun, be safe, et cetera,” Nora says and smiles at her. 

“Wait! I don’t have any of my things,” June says. This whole situation is still a little overwhelming, and somehow that’s the thing she chooses to focus on. 

“We called the White House and asked them to bring everyone’s overnight bag, and to pack one for you. I stole Bea to make reservations at the hotel. Always helps to have a princess in tow for last-minute suite reservations,” Nora says. 

June looks alarmed.

“Don’t worry, we brought Amy, who cleared the lobby and had the front desk clerk sign an NDA,” Nora says. 

“Zahra would be proud,” June says, shaking her head in disbelief. She can’t believe her friends went to all that effort for her. 

“Can’t very well disappoint her on her wedding day, can we?” Bea says, smiling. “Ready?” she asks.

“Sure,” June replies. She’s giddy with anticipation now that everything is settled. 

“Nora and I will settle in here for the night, and you can just go through here.” Bea points at the connecting doors. “Knock if you need anything.”

She hugs them both. “Thank you,” she says. 

“Of course,” Bea says. Nora just motions for her to go; it's her way of showing affection. 

June grabs her bag and opens the first door, then the second, and then closes the first behind her. She thinks she should probably be nervous, but this is the calmest she’s been all night. It’s not like it’s the first time they’re going to have sex. They already had the inauguration and last night, and it’s just Pez. Her _boyfriend_ , whom she will now finally get alone. 

“Can I stay here tonight?” she asks innocently. Pez looks like he immediately catches on to what the plan is. Good boy. She steps further into the room. 

Pez nods. “Of course. I’m so glad you’re here,” he says. He gets up out of the armchair by the window, smiling wide, and turns around to lift something. When he turns back, he’s holding a comically huge bouquet of flowers, tulips in all colors of the rainbow, and passes it to June. It’s completely over the top and perfectly him, and she starts laughing. 

“Wow,” she says. “You really went all out, huh?” He’s a ridiculous person, but he’s _hers_. She still has a hard time believing it, sometimes. “Thank you,” she says genuinely. 

“Alex said you wouldn’t really appreciate skywriting or exotic birds, so this was the best I could do on short notice,” he says. June decides she doesn’t want to know how he could get both of those things on short notice, but that’s not the thing to focus on. She takes the flowers from him, sets them down on the desk, and pulls Pez into a searing kiss. He kisses her back with just as much fervor, and she can feel the kiss reverberating all the way to her toes. 

“Hi,” she says when they break apart just enough for her to talk. 

“Hello,” Pez says against her lips. 

“This is the best,” June says, and means it. She knew she had longed for privacy, but she didn’t know just how much until she was in this room with Pez alone. 

“Looks like we’ve got Nora and Bea to thank for this,” Pez says. “Two masters of scheming.We should probably be proud and afraid.”

“Indeed,” June says. Her face seems to only be able to smile now, and she finds she doesn’t much mind it. 

“We’ve got great friends,” Pez says loudly, and sits down on the bed. He pats the spot next to him and motions for June to come sit with him. 

June immediately catches on to what they’re doing. “Don’t I know it,” she answers louder than she normally would, certain Nora and Bea will be close enough to hear. 

June swears she hears the faint sound of a high-five from the next room. Pez must have heard it too because he laughs, right before pulling June towards him and kissing her once more.


End file.
